The Seed Keeper

After seeing Rosalie in the grocery store, Gaby recalls that when she first met her at school a few years back, Rosalie wore boys’ clothes and thick glasses, and she kept to herself. As one of the only other Indigenous students at the school, Gaby was intrigued by her. She tried to connect with her by revealing her situation: Gaby and her brother, Anthony, were staying with their Aunt Vera to get Anthony away from drugs on the reservation and keep Gaby away from her boyfriend, Earl, one of Anthony’s friends who is also a drug dealer.

When Aunt Vera heard about Rosalie, she mentioned that she knew Ray Iron Wing and his wife’s troublesome family. Rosalie came over for dinner the night that Anthony, who had been in a car accident with Earl involving cocaine and wine, got out of the hospital. The teenagers sat outside, smoking pot and talking. Gaby aspired to be a lawyer someday, fighting for children taken away from the reservation, though her bad grades posed a problem. She announced that in their friendship, she “was the mouth, and [Rosalie] was the ears” (61), which Rosalie appreciates.

Anthony worried about possible jail time, though Earl had escaped. While in the hospital, he was visited by an old elder who prayed over him before disappearing. Gaby thought it was a hallucination, but he was not so sure. He had also been inspired recently by the American Indian Movement and the Trail of Broken Treaties. Rosalie gave him her copy of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and then she shared her experience at her first foster home; she was sent away when she tried to help the lonely foster mother with alcoholism cook a proper dinner by trapping and skinning a rabbit. The woman was scared and called social services, who sent Rosalie to live with Shirley.

Unable to find other work, Rosalie works as a corn detasseler for John Meister, the young farmer who gave her the quarter for bread. Shirley warns he has alcoholism. The work is hard, but Rosalie persists, even when the other two boys quit. John is impressed by her and invites her to lunch, though he has been relatively quiet so far. Rosalie speculates that they are similar in their outsider statuses.

John relates that the farm was homesteaded in the 1860s. Rosalie doesn’t ask about who owned the land before his family and before the government cleared it, thinking, “I had no patience for teaching people their own history” (78). His older brother Eddie, who was supposed to inherit the farm, went off to fight in Vietnam instead. While he was away, their mother died of cancer, and their father started drinking. Eddie was killed in Vietnam, after which their father had a stroke and died. Grieving and left in charge of the farm, John started drinking, too.

Rosalie shares that her father was a high school science teacher who was fired for teaching the Dakhóta belief that people originated in the stars. John shows her Eddie’s tombstone and the nearby river, and for the first time in a long while, Rosalie feels at peace.

The story flashes back three years to 1976. Rosalie and Gaby bond despite their differences. Gaby has a short attention span, doesn’t like reading, and is always ready to fight. The two have plans to move to the Twin Cities after graduation or travel around the country going to powwows. However, whenever the subject of Earl comes up, those plans and dreams are shelved.

One day, Gaby convinces Rosalie to skip school and go shopping at Salvation Army with her, using some money that Earl gave her. They have fun and bond over trying on clothes, and Gaby finds a more feminine outfit for Rosalie that looks good on her. Afterward, Gaby asks Rosalie for a favor: Cover for her if her aunt calls to check on her when she spends the night with Earl. Rosalie agrees, but then she starts to worry when Gaby doesn’t show up for school for a few days. Aunt Vera accosts her, knowing that she lied to her. She informs her that not only is Gaby pregnant, but Gaby and Earl were caught in a drug raid. Earl’s in jail, and Gaby has been sent to a home for unwed teens. Vera tells Rosalie never to contact Gaby again.

Back in 1979, Rosalie starts planning for her life after Shirley when she learns that John will soon pay them for their detasseling work. When Shirley hears of her job, however, she insists on getting half the money. They fight, and Rosalie slaps her. She runs to the river and stays until morning when she goes back to John’s farm.

John suggests that they get married since she needs a place to stay and he needs the company. Marriage would keep the neighbors from gossiping too much. Rosalie agrees, knowing that her plans to start a life in the Twin Cities are on hold until she can recoup the money Shirley insists on taking. On her 18th birthday, they wed, though Rosalie hesitates when it comes to writing her married name, not wanting to give up that part of her identity. John suggests she just add “Meister” to the end. To make sure that John understands that she did not marry him to be his employee, housekeeper, or sex partner, Rosalie largely keeps to her room and does not work around the farm or house. She fully expects a meaner, darker side of John to emerge, but he keeps his distance, working outside during the day and drinking himself to sleep in his chair at night.

One winter day, Rosalie trudges through the snow, intending to go to the river. The snow is too deep, however, and she falls. Returning to the house, she finds a meal and coffee set out for her, along with snowshoes and poles. Over the next few days, she uses the snowshoes to visit the river. She realizes that John expects nothing in return and that the snowshoes were a kindness to her. She begins making small efforts around the house, such as cooking and pruning the apple trees. One evening, she invites him to bed.

Spring arrives, and Rosalie is still at the farm. She finds John’s mother’s seed packets and decides to start a garden. However, she doesn’t know how and just scatters the seeds randomly over the soil. Gaby calls her, asking about married life and telling her that after her son was born, she realized that she needed to get serious about creating a better world for him. Consequently, she is getting her GED and plans to attend law school.

After seeing Rosalie’s gardening attempt, John suggests she meet their neighbors, Judith and George, but Rosalie doesn’t want to. They drive into New Ulm, and John shows her a plaque commemorating the “Sioux Indian War of 1862,” which calls Indigenous people “savages.” John explains that he wants Rosalie to know what she’s up against in the community. His family name is on the plaque, but when Rosalie asks about his stance, he replies that the Indigenous uprising was probably warranted.

The narrative flashes back to 1862. Fourteen-year-old Marie and her Iná (mother) take turns keeping watch in their makeshift lean-to, where they are staying with her baby brother. Settlers have taken their land and forced starvation on them. Her Até (father) is away, fighting at Wood Lake. Much of their family has scattered west or north, but they followed her father until it became too dangerous.

While her mother is away collecting firewood, a wounded fighter named Two Bears arrives, asking for water. Desperate times have made Marie suspicious of everyone, but she gives him the water. He tells her that the warriors who survived Wood Lake have been captured, and soldiers are coming to round people up.

When her Iná returns, they go to a cache pit they dug the previous year to hide food and seeds. They take what they can and leave behind the bison clavicle Marie’s grandmother used for gardening. They sew the seeds into their hems to hide them from soldiers and other desperate families. Iná gives Marie a cob of red corn to protect, as it will help them survive as individuals and as a people. Iná’s mother gave her the corn on her wedding day.

The story returns to 1980. Rosalie decides to meet Judith and George when her garden doesn’t grow as she expected. Not only are they friendly and welcoming, but they also show her how to grow a garden well. Rosalie realizes that her investment in the garden is another excuse to put off leaving the farm and starting her own life.

After John runs into the local pastor, they attend Sunday service at the Lutheran church. While some people are friendly or neutral toward her, there are several icy stares and hostile glances. Rosalie grows increasingly uncomfortable until she has to run into the bathroom and vomit. The other woman in the restroom inquires if she is pregnant and mentions there’s an organization that can help place an unwanted child. Stunned and realizing that she really is pregnant, Rosalie slams the towel dispenser, scaring the woman.

At home, Rosalie cuts her hair, a Dakhóta mourning tradition. She never got a chance to mourn her father, and she also marks that “the girl who was born in the woods was gone. In her place was a new self, a woman who was harder and stronger, who was ready to become a mother and raise a child” (142). She understands that her dreams of either starting a life on her own terms or returning to her home are just that—dreams. Rosalie decides that her son will be named Wakpá, the Dakhóta word for “river.”